Data_Sheet_1_Normative mice retinal thickness: 16-month longitudinal characterization of wild-type mice and changes in a model of Alzheimer's disease.pdf

Animal models of disease are paramount to understand retinal development, the pathophysiology of eye diseases, and to study neurodegeneration using optical coherence tomography (OCT) data. In this study, we present a comprehensive normative database of retinal thickness in C57BL6/129S mice using spectral-domain OCT data. The database covers a longitudinal period of 16 months, from 1 to 16 months of age, and provides valuable insights into retinal development and changes over time. Our findings reveal that total retinal thickness decreases with age, while the thickness of individual retinal layers and layer aggregates changes in different ways. For example, the outer plexiform layer (OPL), photoreceptor inner segments (ILS), and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) thickened over time, whereas other retinal layers and layer aggregates became thinner. Additionally, we compare the retinal thickness of wild-type (WT) mice with an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (3 × Tg-AD) and show that the transgenic mice exhibit a decrease in total retinal thickness compared to age-matched WT mice, with statistically significant differences observed at all evaluated ages. This normative database of retinal thickness in mice will serve as a reference for future studies on retinal changes in neurodegenerative and eye diseases and will further our understanding of the pathophysiology of these conditions.

疾病动物模型是解析视网膜发育、眼部疾病病理生理学，以及利用光学相干断层扫描（Optical Coherence Tomography, OCT）数据开展神经退行性病变研究的核心手段。本研究基于谱域光学相干断层扫描数据，构建了C57BL6/129S小鼠视网膜厚度的综合性参考数据库。该数据库涵盖1至16月龄的纵向观测周期，可为视网膜发育及随时间推移的形态变化提供极具价值的研究参考。本研究结果显示，视网膜总厚度随年龄增长而降低，而各视网膜层及层复合体的厚度则呈现差异化变化趋势。例如，外网丛层（Outer Plexiform Layer, OPL）、光感受器内节（Photoreceptor Inner Segments, ILS）以及视网膜色素上皮（Retinal Pigment Epithelium, RPE）的厚度随时间推移而增厚，其余视网膜层及层复合体则出现变薄现象。此外，本研究对比了野生型（Wild-Type, WT）小鼠与阿尔茨海默病动物模型（3×Tg-AD）的视网膜厚度，结果显示，与同月龄野生型小鼠相比，转基因小鼠的视网膜总厚度更低，且在所有评估年龄组中均存在统计学显著性差异。本小鼠视网膜厚度参考数据库将为后续神经退行性疾病及眼部疾病的视网膜变化研究提供重要参照，并有助于深化我们对这类疾病病理生理学机制的认知。